Page:Ballads of a Bohemian.djvu/46

And I used to sit and sing to it, and I shielded it from harm,
And many a hearty feed it had on the heft of my hairy arm.
For you’ll never know in that land of snow how lonesome a man can feel;
So I made a fuss of the little cuss, and I christened it “Lucille.”
But the longest winter has its end, and the ice went out to sea,
And I saw one day a ship in the bay, and there was the Nancy Lee.
So a boat was lowered and I went aboard, and they opened wide their eyes—
Yes, they gave a cheer when the truth was clear, and they saw my precious prize.
And then it was all like a giddy dream; but to cut my story short.
We sailed away on the fifth of May to the foreign Prince’s court;
To a palmy land and a palace grand, and the little Prince was there.
And a fat Princess in a satin dress with a crown of gold on her hair.
And they showed me into a shiny room, just him and her and me.
And the Prince he was pleased and friendly-like, and he calls for drinks for three.
And I shows them my battered biscuit-tin, and I makes my modest spiel.